think tank

Global governance’ in our vocabulary does not imply a global 'government', but rather the institution set up for cooperation, coordination, and common action between durable sovereign states…people and nations are beginning to agree To take the next steps together. They are reaching a consensus by practical procedures rather than by the formal voting of governmental representatives; many International functions, especially those requiring the most foresight and operational flexibility, and be carried out through non governmental arrangements. –Club of Rome

Among the numerous programs run by the governmental relations branch of the Booz Allen Hamilton concern - presently up for sale - figures Proteus USA, a think tank founded and financed by the director of national intelligence (DNI).

The Kremlin is tired of Western criticisms -- that Russia is becoming more authoritarian, human rights are violated, journalists are at risk and elections are rigged. Now the Kremlin is trying to turn the tables on the West, setting up a think tank its founders say will expose the flaws of Western democracies.

Six years ago coalition forces headed into Afghanistan to eradicate the Taliban. Now an international think tank says more than half of the country is under the Taliban's thumb. Meanwhile, an Oxfam report sharply criticized US-led development efforts in the region.

The new think tank the European Council on Foreign Relations hopes to steer the European Union back onto the center of the world stage. Its 50 founding members include leading European intellectuals such as Timothy Garton Ash, Joschka Fischer, Brian Eno and Rem Koolhaas.